LSL Clubman Kawasaki W800

Just two hours after Kawasaki took the wraps off its new W 800 at INTERMOT, German tuner LSL-Motorradtechnik revealed the bike that Kawasaki should have built in the first place. LSL boss Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler used to be a Kawasaki dealer, so he managed to get his hands on a pre-production W 800 before it was released to the public. And he’s turned the lumbering new roadster into a 60s-style flat tracker with a sharper look and better specs. (The standard W 800 has a drum brake at the back, Lord help us, and weighs over 30kg more than Moto Guzzi’s V7 Classic.) The LSL Clubman W 800TR livens things up with new suspension, new brakes, and new bars, triple trees and rearsets. Black anodized aluminum wheels are shod with Pirelli Scorpion tires. A matt black 2-into-2 exhaust system destricts the engine, and if LSL hasn’t already put the bike on a dyno, a few tweaks to the stock ECU should easily result in a useful power boost. How long will it be before a major manufacturer takes note of the growing flat track influence on motorcycle styling, and creates a bike that beats the custom shops at their own game? [For more LSL Clubman goodness, check out their custom Triumphs: the W 740R and the T 860R. Street Triple fans will love the LSL TL-675.]